I've been held hostage by AT&T because I love my iPhone, but its customer service is horrible, dreadful and the worst of any vendor that I deal with. Therefore, I would NEVER consider moving my internet service or land line phone service to AT&T (Cox has great customer service). I have a Dell computer, an HP computer, and Cox Cable (for cable, internet and land line phone service) and AT&T is absolutely, hands down the worst of the bunch to deal with. The AT&T stores are fine; it's when you have to use the website or call the 800 number when you will curse the day you became its customer and feel trapped due to the contract or your iPhone devotion. I'll give you 3 examples in the past 12 months.

First example has to do with website customer service access. I created a user id and password to access its website. Then when they changed the parameters for user id's or passwords mine wouldn't work anymore and of course I couldn't sign on to change it AND I couldn't create a new one because it saw that I had one associated with my phone number. The ultimate catch-22. If this situation happened with Cox Cable, I could resolve the problem in 5 minutes with a phone call. With AT&T it took 3-4 months!! Yes, months to resolve.

First of all when I called the 800 number repeatedly, they couldn't put me in contact with anyone who dealt with website login issues. After months, I was the one who figured out what was likely happening and asked the person to just delete my old online account and that fixed the problem. Next, I had the misfortune of buying an AT&T card to connect my laptop to the internet wireless through the cell phone network. For 6 months it was so slow and no one seemed to care and no one solved the problem.

Finally, after several phone calls and several re-installations of the communication software it was working at a speed a person could live with--reasonable response time for email and reasonable response time for the internet, but guess what--they couldn't get their own AT&T communication manager software to work!! And the only way they could get it to work was to use the Sierra Wireless communication manager for the device that AT&T remarkets with its name.

Third and last problem. Because their wireless coverage in our area is spotty they are now selling customers a $150.00 microcell tower to put into your home to route calls not over the AT&T cell network but over my reliable COX Cable Internet connection. I get to pay $150.00 to cure AT&T's wireless coverage problems and the solution involves routing calls over a competitor's internet network. I bought this device on Saturday December 12th. As of today Sunday December 27th, I still can't activate the device. The problem is small--the device can't recognize my street address needed for E911. But 13 days and counting and AT&T cannot resolve the problem.

Let me tell you what I've done and then you will know what it's like to deal with customer support at AT&T. First, when I bought the device at the store, the agent at the store had problems entering my address, so we knew right away there was a problem. He said, "I've had this problem before and I can enter an address down the street from you that I know is OK". I said wait a minute, this address is used for e911, I don't want someone else's address. Then, a few days later they emailed me and said "enter your PO Box number as your address" (our town doesn't get postal delivery).

I enter the PO Box number and hit the activation button and the process fails. I call the 800 "support" number the next day and they enter a ticket number and promise a callback in 48-72 hours. I get a callback within that time to tell me the case is pending and there is no news. I call back today and I'm told the case is pending and there is no news. During the week, the store sent me a "solution" which failed as soon as I tried it.

This is life with AT&T wireless customer support. I can't even call back to tech support with my tech support "ticket number" to check status because over the week they changed the number of digits in the pin numbers and the pin number they gave me 6 days ago is too long! It's a constant comedy of incompetence when dealing with AT&T wireless support and I've seen no attempt to improve the quality of support at all.

I had signed up for AT&T Wireless's service back in March. When I went into the store, I was told that coverage in my area was vast and that I had 3G all over the city. When I ordered my phone, I found out that coverage in my area is not vast. My phone kept moving onto the EDGE network, and I had to set it manually to get it to use 3G. The EDGE network was static filled, with slow data speeds and dropped calls. The service didn't work in many buildings and the circuits would often times be overloaded. The 3G wasn't any better. When I called AT&T, the reps seemed barely able to understand my problem and kept transferring me to different departments.

I was told that even though the maps show 3G in my area, that coverage wasn't guaranteed, but that the good news was 3G network upgrades were just a few months away. I was also told that if I kept having issues after the updates; that my ETF would be waived. So I dealt with the problems; hoping the upgrades that were "Suppose" to come in July would take care of my issues. When I called back in July, I was told by one representative that there wasn't any upgrades on the way. The next representative said there were upgrades coming, but that they would be made in August.

The next representative said the upgrades would be in November. And another representative said that the upgrade dates always change and that the upgrades wouldn't be made until January of 2010! Each representative telling me a different story, and each time I was treated like the problem was actually my fault. I then filed a trouble ticket to find help, but soon found out that the trouble ticket had been closed without AT&T even bothering to look into my problems. I then filed another trouble ticket, and again my issue was ignored and notes were added to my account to (NOT) open anymore trouble tickets.

When I asked about leaving and told them that I had notes on my account that stated my ETF would be waived, they put me in touch with a manager who couldn't have been any ruder and said it was my fault for not leaving within the 30 days. When I told him that I had stayed because I was assured by different reps that network upgrades were coming, he went silent and said he would wave some of the Early Termination Fee. He then continued to blame me for any faults and said that reps don't have the ability to make claims like that. So it didn't matter what notes were on my account, that they wouldn't be honored.

After going through the hell of dealing with representative after rep, they finally waived the ETF and told me that I would get a pro-rated refund for the last month of service that I didn't use. After I wasn't sent the pro-rated check, I called them to find out what had happen and the representative told me they don't make pro-rated refunds for the last month of service, even if the customer only used a few days of it. But he did say he would have someone call me, which no one ever did. So I am writing this to warn people to STAY AWAY FROM AT&T WIRELESS! Their reps are poorly trained and they do not care about your problems.

AT&T will also force you to pay for your last month of service in advance (which every carrier does), but unlike other carriers, AT&T will not refund your last month of service. They keep those fees, even if you were only allowed to use a few days of your last month of service. I can't even imagine how many people have lost money because of this!

AT&T is by far the absolute worst carrier I have ever used. The network is garbage, the reps are poorly trained and rude, and even though they use GSM & Java; they lock their phones down to the point where you're forced to buy everything from them. There are much better carriers out there. So I would suggest if you're thinking about switching to AT&T, then DON'T! It's not worth the hassle! Nothing can be done. I now HATE AT&T and will NEVER trust them again!!!

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Ridiculous Deductible Fee

By Monique - 05/30/2012

Rating: 1/51

AT&T is SUPPOSED to be a better wireless service. Time and time again they are proving me that they are wrong! The last straw is when I had my cell phone stolen. I upgraded my phone for 89.99 plus tax and paid for the insurance every month. When I called to report it stolen and to get a replacement phone they told me it would cost 199$.

First of all I didn't pay that amount for the phone and secondly if I was a new customer or upgraded it wouldn't cost that much. What was the purpose of me having insurance and paying for it if it would cost that much....Pointless!!! I called around and Sprint, Verizon and even T-Mobile, and all three have 99$ deductibles on their android phones. I definitely am switching companies. AT&T officially SUCKS!!!

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AT&T's 3G Wireless Service is Terrible in Cincinnati, Ohio

By angryattuser - 05/13/2010

ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- The AT&T Wireless 3G network has many problems and issues in the Cincinnati, Ohio area that never get fixed no matter how many calls to technical/customer support you make. Ever since I started service with them, I've had about 50% of all my calls dropped. During morning and afternoon rush hours, you can never get a clear call. There is always crackling and static in the line. The voice will also cut out. Many times, I won't receive text, picture or voice messages people send me. Especially people who send me messages from Verizon phones.

The 3G network goes down quite frequently and you aren't able to check your e-mail. Coverage is spotty at best and there are quite a few dead zones throughout the city, reception in and around my house is poor, and customer service is very unknowledgeable. They will always try to blame your phone for problems happening. I've read many other reviews online of people having the same issues I am having with them. No technicians are ever sent out to check the problems. When will they come to Cincinnati and fix the tower issues here?

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DO NOT TAKE AT&T Wireless Service. It's in the stone ages

By ignoramus - 01/12/2010

DO NOT TAKE AT&T Service no matter how much you like the iPhone or hear about the 3G network. I had an iPhone gifted to me in 2008 and went to the local store in Portland to get the service activated on my way to the airport on a vacation to Disneyland with the family on May 11 2009. Since I had the phone, I confirmed with the store that I would NOT be tied in a 2 year contract but on month to month.

For the last 8 months I have had nightmares with their network reception in Portland, and across many cities in CA, AZ, WA, NY and MD. Their network is in the stone ages, as I have used other providers in the US and many other countries. My used minutes kept increasing, which made me pay hundreds $ for dropped calls etc. After lots of calls and losing my head with endless number of reasons that provide no resolution, I got some credit back, but not a complete audit of my past huge bills I already paid them for. I finally decided to get over the iPhone bug and move over to another provider.

When I called their cancellation service I am told that I need to pay early termination fees as my contract is for 2 years???!!! When I never bought the phone from them to get into the contract and had confirmed it. My bad I did not read the fine print as we were headed to the airport. Moreover, their customer service says that to rectify the contract issue I must deal with the store directly. I recently moved from PDX to DC so basically I need to keep calling the store which never has any free reps to answer the call, or should fly there to fix this.

The nightmare just got even worse. I am disgusted with AT&T. They have many underhand and deceptive ways to make you burn your minutes and pay extra $'s. Have you noticed that if you make any call to AT&T from your cell phone, you'll hear endless recorded messages and be put on hold to keep burning your minutes for which you will end up paying them. There needs to be a law to protect the consumers and make them accountable!!

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Nice People Have Built Organizational Disaster - Awful Customer Service

By Harold - 12/12/2012

Rating: 1/51

REDMOND, WASHINGTON -- Son's iPhone was stolen. I spent 2 1/2 hours on the telephone with these clowns. Was told to make a payment as a credit on son's account toward new iPhone, then son walks into corporate-owned AT&T store and is told credit on his account cannot be applied toward new phone! AT&T took my money and then would not apply it toward the new telephone. This company has to be the most poorly run company on earth. Find another option- Sprint? Go without a phone before you use AT&T.

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AT&T's 3G wireless service is very poor in the Cincinnati, Ohio area

By cincycellguy27 - 05/16/2010

ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- Where do I begin.... My name is ** and I live in Cincinnati, Ohio. I am very unhappy with AT&T's wireless service. I have a new iPhone and have had problems with it since day 1. After numerous calls to their customer care / technical support line, nothing ever changes because this company does not care about its customers whatsoever.

I am still getting quite a few dropped calls in and around Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky. The voice quality on every call is terrible. You will hear interference, crackling, and echoing in the line. With full antenna strength, the voice will sound garbled and will cut out to the point of affecting your conversation. Many of my text, voice and picture messages will not come through. The network is very unreliable and will go down at anytime. Reception is also poor in many areas of the city. So, avoid AT&T Wireless, they provide very poor 3G wireless service.

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Avoid AT&T's Wireless Service

By cincywirelessuser - 10/28/2009

ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- I have been with two wireless companies before I came to AT&T. I have never experienced such horrible service as I have with AT&T Wireless. I live in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. First of all, I am on my 3rd new Nokia 3G phone in four months. Even with the new phones, I am still getting a lot of dropped calls, poor voice quality where there is crackling and static in the line when making calls, voice quality where it cuts out and is choppy, phone not ringing when someone calls, missed voice and text messages that don't show up for hours, and poor reception.

Also, the 3G network goes down in Ohio all the time. I have called customer service and tech support 5 times each, and the problems are still going on. I am always told false promises of fixing these problems. No one at AT&T cares about fixing these problems. The towers are obviously being overloaded by all of the iPhone and 3G devices. When is AT&T going to do something about these ridiculous problems? I signed a 2 year contract and pay over $100 for their horrible service. Whatever you do, do not sign up with them. You will be very unhappy with their service.

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Less Bars In More Places + Bad Voice Service

By ohio42guy - 04/15/2009

CINCINNATI, OHIO -- Their motto should be less bars in more places. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio and there are numerous dead zones and areas of poor reception here. Also, the 3G voice quality is very poor throughout the city. Whenever I dial a number, I always hear static and crackling in the line. The voice sometimes cuts out like it did on the old GSM network. Even with full reception. I've called their tech support about it two times and always get the run-around. They are very arrogant as well. I could barely understand the guy on the phone (foreigner). My friend has an iPhone and his does the same thing. Avoid them at all costs! You will not be happy with their service.

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Awful service disappointing brand name

By Janet - 09/20/2007

BOCA RATON, FLORIDA -- I have been a loyal AT&T customer from long distance, to wireless, to credit cards etc. since almost the beginning of my "telephone life". My recent experiences with AT&T wireless has really been causing a lot of friction in my household with no signal, missed and dropped calls and delayed messages. I have really become disillusioned with my wireless service. The service has continued to disintegrate with each change in name.

I am told the new AT&T is not the same company as the old AT&T and they have little interest in servicing my acct. I have been told the new AT&T wants to get rid of the old customers by killing the old cell towers forcing us to abandon our old plans and sign up for the new less economical plans. There is no recognition of being loyal customers all these years. My kids are really getting a sad lesson in US business morals & practices.